Hannah and I have been busy creating a beautiful Lebkuchenhaus (German Gingerbread House) featured on the front cover and pages 32 & 33 of this month’s Focus. Using the same dough recipe, you can make and decorate lovely biscuits to hang as edible decorations or to give as festive gifts. They are easy to make and children love decorating them. They also smell and taste delicious and fill the house with a fantastic Christmassy aroma. Happy Baking and Christmas wishes to you all!
Ingredients:
- 400g plain flour
- 2 tbsp ground mixed spice
- 8 tbsp honey (you can use golden syrup if you prefer)
- 75g margarine
- 75g soft brown sugar
- 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda dissolved in 2 tbsp of water
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
You will also need:
- Christmas shaped cutters such as stars, bells, stockings etc
- 1 packet of Royal Icing (sold in 500g boxes)
- Food colouring
- Decorations and embellishments of your choice
Method
- Begin by setting your oven temperature: 190C, Fan 170C, Gas Mark 5
- Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick parchment paper
- Sift the flour and spice into a bowl
- In a saucepan, over a low heat, melt the honey, margarine and brown sugar, gently stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the melted ingredients to the flour and spice mixture, together with the egg, egg yolk and dissolved bicarbonate of soda. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough.
- On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to about 5mm thickness
- Cut out your desired shapes and gently place them on to your baking sheet. (If you are going to make decorations you will need to make a hole, using a skewer, in the top of each biscuit so that you can thread with ribbon)
- Cook in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes until they are golden brown. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before icing
- Ice and decorate the biscuits as you wish.
Recipe by Pauline Mardell
